John Abraham to play cop Sanjeev Kumar Yadav in Nikkhil Advani's film on Batla House Encounter

After playing the lead in Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran, John Abraham is all set to play the role of the senior cop Sanjeev Kumar Yadav who led the 2008 Batla House Encounter case. The film will be directed by Nikkhil Advani. According to a Pune Mirror report, the film will go on floors in September and will be shot across Delhi, Lucknow, Jaipur, Nepal and Mumbai.

The report further mentioned that John Abraham has been roped in for the film. Director Nikhil Advani was quoted as saying, "Sanjeev Kumar Yadav wanted a physically and mentally strong actor and John fits the bill. With a little light on him and a flash of those dimples, John stands out in a crowd. The biggest challenge will be to make him blend in.”

Sanjeev Kumar Yadav has eight President Gallantry Awards to his name, including one for the Batla House Encounter operation.

John also confirmed the news and told Pune Mirror, "We are yet to meet, but I’ve been devouring all the material on him, and from what I’ve read, he seems like a humble man with an interesting back story.”

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Sharing his perspective about the upcoming project, director Nikkhil had earlier said, "I am doing a film on Batla House next, it’s a very controversial subject. Were the five boys inside the building really terrorists or were they students? Was the encounter real or fake? We are hoping to answer these questions in the movie. We want to make films that are very relevant and topical.”

The director explained that he will show three perspectives in the film. He told Pune Mirror, "The encounter will be seen from three perspectives — that of the police, those present near the location, many of whom believed that the bullets flying were for the TV serial Swabhimaan, which was being shot in the vicinity just two days ago, and the real picture.”

Operation Batla House or the Batla House Encounter, took place on September 19, 2008. The operation was against the Indian Mujahideen terrorists in the Batla House locality in Jamia Nagar in Delhi. Two suspected terrorists were killed while two others were arrested during the operation. Mohan Chand Sharma, encounter specialist who led the police action, lost his life during the operation.

Meanwhile, John's upcoming film Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran will hit the screens on May 25.